A number of businesses have raised concerns over the difficulties arising from prolonged delays in the processing of telegraphic transfers (TTs) through the Bank of Maldives (BML) for the procurement of goods and services from abroad.
Business owners who spoke on the matter said that even where the funds have already been secured, a TT takes somewhere between 15 and 20 days to be processed. The said delays, they noted, have obstructed the timely importation of essential goods and have left them carrying financial losses as a result.
One businessman, writing on X, said that transfers sent to foreign suppliers through BML are being withheld for two or three weeks under the description of processing, and that the damage caused to businesses in the interim cannot be undone.
The same businessman went on to note that, owing to the absence of dollar support for certain transfers and the lack of a streamlined system, traders are being driven to purchase foreign currency on the black market at inflated rates. Other traders echoed the said position, stating that the prevailing shortage has made it impossible to obtain the currency they require through ordinary channels.
On August 25, the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) announced that it had commenced a special operation directed at curbing the use of fraudulent telegraphic transfers, having noted that certain parties were exploiting the system to obtain foreign currency from the banks.
Besides this, the government has introduced a series of measures aimed at dismantling the dollar black market.
Has the official support made a difference?
President Mohamed Muizzu had announced that 50 percent of business telegraphic transfers are now supported at the official exchange rate.
Notwithstanding the said announcement, the difficulty of unprocessed transfers persists, and extends to transfers which businesses have funded independently, without recourse to bank support at all.
The dollar shortage in the Maldives has reached a critical stage, with black market rates climbing to levels not previously seen.
Both BML and the government, however, have faced criticism that they have fought to understate the position and to leave the public with an inaccurate impression of the severity of the shortage.
Complaints have also been mounting over the inability to use BML-issued cards on foreign websites. The said restrictions have affected students residing abroad, individuals seeking medical treatment overseas, and private citizens attempting to make payments internationally.